10 Not a Date Dates In a Dark Corridor
by i-hime
Summary: He had trouble sleeping, she had to do her rounds. They met up in a dark corridor and have been meeting up every night since then. "Sounds like a date my dear." The fat lady told her. Hermione closed the door. "It's a "not a date" date,you bumbling idiot." Dramione fic
1. Dark Corridors and Head Duties

Hey guys =) I'm sorry for not updating my anime stories, a little thing called senior year stole my attention I'll be posting newer stories because I have to rethink my plots for my old ones =)))

I got this idea from a person I chatted with in Omegle, we were taking turns writing to make one big story and I this idea popped into my head based on a scene we were doing =)

Chapter 1: Dark Corridors and Head Duties

While everyone else in the Slytherin dormitory was asleep, Draco Malfoy lay on his bed staring at the ceiling wondering why in Merlin's name was he not able to doze off into a sound sleep. He raked his hand through his hair and glanced at the clock. "twelve midnight" he mumbled, he's been awake for 3 hours. With one last huff he pulled himself up and snuck out of bed. "Bloody hell." He cursed as he fumbled in the dark, looking for the door, tripping in the process. After what felt like a bloody eternity Draco was finally out of the Dorm and was in the common room clad in only a shirt and jeans, a far cry from his usual slacks and dress shirt ensemble. Draco plopped down on one of the couches but soon found himself walking to the door and into the dark hallway.

Not wanting to risk getting caught by any professors and ghosts, he decided to walk in the dark than to use his wand for light. It wasn't completely dark anyway, the stone walls were lined with torches that illuminated the hallway with a warm glow. "Not enough light." He mumbled. "Wait til father hears about THIS."

Her heels made clacking noises as she made her way through the long corridor. Glancing at her clipboard she mouthed the word check. Hermione had just finished her rounds and was ready to go head back to the Gryffindor tower when she heard a familiar voice mumbling to no one in particular.

"Draco? Is that you?" Hermione called out.

The blonde haired boy emerged from the dark hallway. "What are you doing here, Granger?" he drawled coolly, not looking at her. "I'm doing my rounds." She motioned to her clipboard. Draco looked at her and waved her off "Ah, you're the head girl for your house, I must've forgotten. I don't really pay attention to whatever is going on in your house." He stated in a tone that sounded as if he was telling Hermione that she should have already known that.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "Yes, Malfoy because YOUR house is oh-so great that is has earned your undivided attention, much so, that you don't know what is going on in other houses. So tell me, are you painfully loyal or just ignorant?" she smiled when Draco's usually pale face turned a shade of red at her remark. With his gray eyes reflecting the moonlight and his pale skin, Draco looked like a beast. A very handsome beast, she added. Her smile disappeared. Did she just call Draco Malfoy a handsome beast? Hermione shuddered.

"Is there something wrong with my face, Granger?" Draco asked sharply. "You seem to be staring at it." He pointed out while quirking up a brow, making him look even more dangerously attractive, with his messy blonde hair and striking gray eyes that shone in the moonlight.

"Uh-Uhm No. There's nothing wrong with your face." She stuttered as she shook her head, mentally whacking herself for stuttering. SHE does NOT stutter. Hermione had to think of a comeback, she refused to be like everybody else who was mesmerized by the Slytherin boy.

"Although, I'm not so keen on your outfit." She remarked thoughtfully. "It's rather un-Malfoy-ish, don't you think?" she made a hand gesture indicating his outfit of choice.

Draco scoffed. "I just got out of bed, Granger. I don't see why I have to dress up when I was thinking no one would see me out here?" he said quickly. Hermione giggled and he felt himself smile at the sound. She had quite a pretty laugh. But of course being Draco, he squashed the feeling and began to walk away. "See you then, Granger. " he stated, not really wanting to start an argument with the Gryffindor girl who had the ability to chatter uncontrollably for hours on end.

The gifted girl watched as Draco began to walk away and before she knew it, she had called after him, earning an annoyed glance from the boy. "Are you headed back to the dorms?" she asked, biting her lip. Draco sighed. He was about to leave when, she had called after him. That in itself was odd. Usually Granger wanted nothing to do with him but now she was stalling him. With an annoyed look he answered her "No, Granger. Why?" Hermione took a deep breath. "I was hoping I could walk with you back up." As she said it, she was looking at her shoes that have somehow become more interesting. She looked up to see his reaction steeling herself for a killer glare. Her eyes darted to his face and she was surprised to see him look thoughtful.

He studied the girl before him before spinning around and walking away leaving Hermione. However, after a few strides, he looked back at her and jerked his head to the direction he was going "I'm headed that way. You can come if you want." he said with a smirk. Hermione glared at him but didn't tell him off. Rolling her eyes, she ran off to catch up with him. "That was low, Malfoy." She said darkly. Ok, maybe she couldn't resist not telling him off.

Draco rolled his eyes at the comment as they turned to a random corridor silently if not for Hermione's heels clacking about. "You shouldn't be surprised, Granger. Don't I always treat you that way?" He asked, looking straight ahead. Hermione looked at him. "Well, you have a point there, Malfoy." She said thoughtfully and inwardly thinking that she's finally lost her marbles. She was going to go on a full on rant when Draco popped her bubble. "Besides, shouldn't I be questioning YOUR actions? After all it's not like you to want to walk with me, Granger. I reckon you'd rather walk hand in hand with a Dementor than walk with me."

Hermione stayed silent after that, not trusting her brain at the moment. It seemed to be acting up and getting her rather, fuzzy. "Sooo. How are you?" she asked awkwardly, this was proving harder than she thought.

Draco stopped walking abruptly and looked at her straight in the eyes. "Watch it, Granger." He smirked. "You're beginning to sound like you care." Hermione turned a shade of pink. "I- I was just—

Smirking at her, Draco waved her off. "Take a breather, Granger. Don't get too worked up." He smiled a rare smile that made Hermione's heart feel like a Hippogriff taking flight. Her eyes met his and for a second she thought she was about to kiss him. She would have to if not for him breaking the stare. Thankful that she was able to avoid a rather complicated situation she sighed in relief and looked around, she hadn't been paying attention to where they were going, not even noticing that they had taken a few staircases down. The two students were now in the courtyard.

Draco took a look at the empty courtyard. The moon gave the courtyard a cold and bluish colour. He liked it better this way, it was more soothing. He inhaled and closed his eyes. He felt Hermione's sharp intake of breath, He figured she hadn't realized that he had led her to the courtyard. An image of her appeared out of nowhere and instead of squashing it, like he always did, he stared at it. He stared at her eyes. The eyes that have haunted him since their 4th year of Hogwarts, he opened his eyes and looked at Hermione. She looked as if she wanted to tell him something but was holding it back.

The image of her back in the corridor flashed before him. She looked like she had wanted him to kiss her and he almost did. But he had his restraints. You don't just go snogging your arch enemy's best friend like that. What if Harry snogged one of HIS friends. He cocked his head to the side when an image of Harry snogging Goyle appeared.

Shuddering at the thought he turned around and started walking back with Hermione following suit. They climbed a staircase and were greeted with comments from the paintings. "What's a purebred doing with HER?" one painting called out. "Oh hush you! I think they make a pretty couple." Said a lady. "Do you think they're friends know about this? I've seen enough spats from both parties to know that they aren't on the best of terms." Malfoy glared at them while Hermione turned red.

"Draco?" Hermione called after a few staircases. Thankful for the distraction, Draco snapped his eyes to meet her gaze with a questioning one. "I uh.. Nevermind." She mumbled. Draco raised his eyebrow. "You're not telling me something, Granger." He looked at her intently. She pretended to yawn to avoid answering his question. He leaned in. "Granger, what is it?"

Hermione blushed and could only hope that it wasn't noticeable in the dark. "N-Nothing! Malfoy, buzz off!" she muttered as she looked away, her cheeks flaming. Malfoy smirked. "It's late, Granger. Potter and Weasley are probably worried about you."

Hermione shook her head. "Honestly, Malfoy. I'm not a baby. I can stay up as late as I want!" she huffed and looked away to hide her yawn. Draco laughed at her effort to look awake. "Go back to your dorm, Granger." Hermione glared at him. "No I will not!"

He jerked his head towards the painting of the fat lady. "You don't have an option." He waved. "Goodnight, Granger." With that he turned and started walking away.

Hermione was dumbfounded. "I have got to start paying more attention to things when I'm with him." She muttered as she looked at his retreating form. She was about to turn around to enter the Common Room when she heard her name. Her head snapped to look at Draco who had turned around. "Yes?" she asked. "I'll see you, tomorrow night." Draco smirked "You're smart enough to know where." And with that, he descended the staircase.

Hermione had her eyes on him until he was out of sight. "I'll be there." She muttered and turned to open the painting. "Oooh, what have we got here?" the fat lady exclaimed excitedly. Hermione blushed. "Oh you! It's none of your business!" she muttered the password and the fat lady frowned as her portrait opened. "Sounds like a date, deary." She said.

The bushy haired girl ignored the painting and closed the door. "It's a "not a date" date, you bumbling idiot." She stated in annoyance as she made her way to her dorm.

"I heard that!" The fat lady yelled. "My, My, this will be interesting." She said to herself.

**DONE =) did you like it? I hope you did. Tell meeeee what you think=) Please review, I'd like to know what you thought of my story. I'll be updating quicker since I start school quite late and I basically have the plot down so I know what I'm writing hahaha gone is the girl who changes the plot as she goes (well not gone but well subdued) Thanks for READING =3**

**I-Hime, out! **


	2. Date 1: Homework by Candlelight

**Hello, my awesome readers! I told you guys I'd be updating quicker , atleast, for NOW. Oh, and I'd like to thank the people who added this story to their Story Alerts and Fave Lists =) A review would be great too guys, so feel free to do so (PLEEASE, DO SO lol)**

Chapter 2: "Not a Date" Date no. 1: Homework by Candlelight

Hermione Granger was known for loving responsibility. In fact she revelled in it, but the way she was right now was pretty loony even for her. "Hermione." Ginny called out to her frantic friend. "It's just rounds. Why are you fretting about what you're going to wear?" The brilliant haired Weasely plopped down on her bed and stared at her friend. "I mean, who are you trying to impress? Nearly Headless Nick?" She teased meanly, earning her a distasteful look from the poofy haired gal who was digging through her trunk.

All dorm beds were standard issue, they all looked alike the only difference now was that Ginny's bed was piled high with countless items of her own clothing, the red head could do nothing but wince at the amount of folding she'd have to do. "Why did you bunk here anyway? Don't you have your own dorm as Head Girl?" she added, avoiding a blouse that came sailing through the air. "Oy, watch it with that one! That's silk! Mum's going to get her knickers in a bunch if I ruin that." She yelled, throwing a pillow at Hermione.

Avoiding the pillow at the nick of time, Hermione threw an acid look towards he best friend. "Honestly, Ginny…You're beginning to sound like Ronald. Not to mention ACTING like him." Hermione chastised, pulling a dress out of Ginny's trunk to have a closer look. "What do you think?" she asked as she held the dress against her body for Ginny to look at. Said girl waved the dress off at first glance "It's a little too grand. It's not the Yule ball Hermione, it's just walking around an empty castle late at night. " she said, trying to reason for her color. "Plus, I don't think plum is your colour." She added with a crinkle of her nose.

Hermione threw her hands up to her face, dropping the dress in the process, crying in frustration. "Oh, this is no use. I'll just stick to my uniform." She said with finality. Her friend gave her a dry look. "It took an hour of ransacking my trunk for you to figure that out, huh?" she spat out, sarcasm dripping from every word she that came out of her mouth as she stood up to start folding her clothes. "I'll be lucky to be finished folding these things by Christmas!" she ranted, pulling at her sweater violently.

"Please, Ginny. Don't kill the sweater." Hermione pleaded. Ginny's head snapped up. "Would you rather I kill you, then?" The older girl scowled, taking out her wand and muttering a few incantations as she waved it. "Whoa." Ginny exclaimed as her items of clothing went flying back into her trunk. "Happy?" she mumbled before flopping down on the bed. Merlin did she miss this dorm, she's only been head girl for 5 months and already she missed the dorm she had shared with her fellow Gryffindors. The numerous bunks that were arranged neatly, the trunks that were aligned at the foot of the beds even the objects strewn all over the place.

"I slept here because I was tired." She said, looking out the window. "And because Malfoy dropped me off here. He CLEARLY doesn't pay attention." She added, too quietly for Ginny to hear.

Ginny stifled a yawn. "Well next time you plan on sleeping here, tell me. That way you don't have to sleep on a chair." She said, giggling in the process. "I don't that thing is comfortable." Jerking her thumb to the chair Hermione had slept on last night.

Hermione made a face and checked her watch, it read eleven o' clock. She had to start her rounds if she wanted to meet Draco on time not to mention do her Potions homework. She stood up and smoothed out her clothes. "I have to go, I have a 4 page essay on Gillyweed due tomorrow for Potions and if I ever want to get that done, I'll have to start my rounds now." She sighed, even talking about the work she had to do was making her tired. Add an unearthly crush on Draco Malfoy to the mix and what do you get? You get a very frantic Hermione. She gave her friend a hug. "You should get some sleep, Gin. I'll be at my dorm tonight. That chair did me good" She laughed as she rubbed her sore neck. Ginny waved goodbye and watched her best friend shuffle outside.

Ginny clicked her tongue. "There is much more going on than just rounds here." She mumbled tiredly to herself biting back another yawn and stretching. She made a loud huffing sound as she hurled herself up, with difficulty, and strode over to the light switch. The youngest of the Weasleys switched off the lights, plunging the room into darkness save for what little light the moon provided.

Hermione had finished her rounds earlier than usual, perhaps it was the excitement. Or the fact that she had the help of a sweeper spell and her fellow Head, uhm what was his name again? She hadn't really bothered to get to know the guy. How mean of her, but oh well she wasn't particularly bothered by this. She'd live a long happy life without knowing the name of her fellow Head. Merlin, she thought, was she becoming mean?

Sighing, she made her way through the maze of corridors. It was amazing how she knew where she was going. Other students would probably be lost by now she thought as she was about round a corner.

She stopped mid-step when an idea crossed her mind. She didn't want to seem too eager to meet Malfoy. She back pedalled and decided that she'd have him wait a bit before showing up. "I can play your game, Malfoy." She mused deviously to herself as she paced the hallway, waiting for any indication of his arrival.

The moonlight had cast an ominous glow to the dark corridor and Draco Malfoy liked it. He felt himself ease off from the tension he was feeling as he walked down the deserted walkway, shards of moonlight hitting him as he walked hastily, causing odd shadows across his face. Tense, he thought. He was never tense well he was never tense around girls anyway, he didn't even care if he was late to a date but Granger was a different kind of girl. Not the typical loony—He stopped himself, she was LOONY but somehow he found it endearing unlike Lovegood's brand of loony, that girl was mind-boggling, he can't stand being in the same room with her. "Loony little troll." He murmured to himself. She was quite pretty though, but her sheer insanity threw people off.

Hermione stood waiting at the corridor where they had bumped into each other the other night. She had abandoned her silly game of playing hard to get moments ago and was now getting impatient.

Where was he? She thought angrily, she was actually angry at herself, really. She thought she could play his mind game by making him think she wasn't going to show up, but obviously she had underpowered his mind greatly. "Malfoy, you git." She growled menacingly as she glanced at her watch for the umpteenth time and cursed under her breath. "12 o clock, Malfoy…If you're not here in ten minutes, I'—

Hermione heard a chuckle from the left "What, punch me again?" said the boy she had been waiting for, for the past hour as he melted out of the shadows, his eyes glinting. "I was thinking along the lines of decapitating you." She spat, every word coated with acid. Draco actually shuddered at the thought. "Loony indeed." He said to himself while shaking his head. "I had some urgent matters to attend to, Granger." Holding up his textbooks, he continued. "Goyle had misplaced my books, I had to find them or I'll never pass my N.E.W.T.S" he complained.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at this. "You are concerned about your N.E.W.T.S?" she laughed, doubling over with her hand on her stomach. "Why don't you just copy off a Ravenclaw?" she asked, clutching her side. "You're known for that, anyway!" she added as a matter-of-factly. She steadied herself and looked at an annoyed Draco Malfoy, a scowl etched on his pale features. "Be quiet, Granger." He sneered walking over to the snickering girl and stopping in front of her. He leaned in until he was an inch away from her face causing Hermione's breath to hitch at her throat. He was so near, she could smell his crisp scent of soap and pine "You should stop laughing, Granger. I'm starting to think that you're enjoying my company." He said lowly, his breath tickling her face. Hermione, who was backed up against the wall, snorted in an attempt to look indifferent to their current position.

"Well, Malfoy. That is where you are wrong." She retorted coolly. "I don't enjoy your company." Oh Merlin, she was lying through her teeth. Hermione never liked lying, even if it was for the greater good. But it had to be done, for her sake.

Stuffing away her guilt she looked up at the Malfoy Heir who seemed unfazed by her reaction. He put his hands on the wall, trapping her between his arms. "Then why'd you show up, Granger?"

That question had caught the witch off-guard. It hung in the air and she began to panic which led her to stutter as she reeled from the initial shock that his question had brought. Hermione turned red, she's been turning red a lot recently, she couldn't help but think it was because of her newfound interest towards, Draco. "I uhhm…" she started pathetically. Draco watched, bemused by her sudden loss of words. Confusion, however, turned into mean delight when he saw her begin to struggle. "I thought so." He smugly said before dropping his arms to his sides and pulling away.

Grateful for the distance between them, Hermione let out a shaky breath. "Malfoy, I have a lot of homework to be done. And the head of your house is making me write a 4 page essay on GILLYWEED." She complained, plopping down on the floor and glaring at him as if it were his fault she had so much work to do. "Snape hate me."

"Snape hates EVEYONE." He corrected. Sitting next to her, Draco pulled out his wand and uttered a spell. Hermione watched as small balls of fire appeared, floating on air. Malfoy waved his wand and the balls of fire encircled them as few inches above them, giving the two wizards as soft and orange-y glow. "That's a nice trick, Draco. But how will this solve my 4 page essay problem?" she asked dryliy

Malfoy rolled his eyes at the muggle-born, she ruined the moment. "You're forgetting, Granger that we are in potions together, I too have a paper to write. So I figured, why not do it now?" He stated neutrally. "And as for the light" motioning to the fire balls above their head. "They'll help us SEE what we're writing, obviously. Unless you want to write in the dark, then that's fine by me. " Draco added.

Hermione smiled, choosing to ignore his last comment. She was too dumbfounded, not many boys understood her views on what a perfect date is and surprisingly, of all people, Draco Malfoy did. Instead of doing what is typically done during a date, he had put her interest into thought thus making it memorable for the bookish witch. The curly-haired gal caught herself and blinked rapidly. Did she just call this a date? No, NO! It was a "not a date" date, she reminded herself. This wasn't a date at all.

"Do you intend on just staring at the floor, blinking like a fool, Granger?" Malfoy asked, he had shifted positions while Hermione was having one of her moments and was now lying on his side with his right forearm supporting him, quill in hand and parchment at the ready. The brunette blinked away her confusion and whipped out her quill and took a piece of parchment from the book, she had inserted a few pieces just in case she had to do her homework on the go, and from the looks of it, Draco had done the same. "Sorry, I was just thinking. It was nice of you to do this." She mumbled quietly, gesturing to the lights and both of them. "It's a twist to the usual dinner by candle light. We're not exactly using candles, though" she continued, looking up at the floating fireballs. "But the thought is there." The light-haired student waved her off, embarrassed by her earnest comment. He was glad she appreciated it, though.

"So…" Draco drawled. "Gillyweed." He said, smiling up at Hermione. His eyes reflecting the warm flickering light of the fireballs. "Gillweed." She said, smiling back.

The two simultaneously looked down at their empty parchment and began scribbling. As they were scribbling down the multiple uses of Gillyweed, Hermione let her mind wander. She looked over at Draco who was bent over his paper, writing like mad. "Stop looking at me, Granger." Malfoy mumbled, looking up. "I'm not a Gillyweed." Smiling, Hermione turned back to her open book and looked at the picture of a Gillyweed. "I don't know, Malfoy. There is quite a resemblance."

She laughed while he glared at her and told her to shut up. From that moment on, Hermione realized, she liked spending time with Draco Malfoy.

"You better not be late tomorrow night, Malfoy." She warned

Draco cracked a grin. "I'll have to see my schedule, Granger." He turned back to his work. "You're a git." She mumbled.

"So I've heard, Granger. So I've heard" Draco drawled coolly. "But I'm a git who gave you homework by candlelight"

**TA DA =)))) it's dooone. How'd you like it? **

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	3. Date 2: Picnic in Pyjamas

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Chapter 3: Date no. 2: Picnic in Pajamas.

It was a cold and rainy night, thick clouds covered the moon, blocking its light and turning everything a shade darker than it already was at night. It was a perfect night to stay in and sleep.

And that's exactly what a certain Head Girl did. In the dark Head dormitory, was the sleeping head girl, cocooned in a blanket, only her poofy hair an indicator of who she was. Hermione sighed as she cuddled her pillow, the rain lulling her to an even deeper slumber.

She hadn't had sleep like this for months. What with her Head Girl duties and school work. It was a relief to finally get some hours of decent sleep. The brainy gal sighed contentedly. She nuzzled her pillow happily. Nothing would ruin this.

"Granger!" an unfamiliar voice called out from inside the room. Hermione groaned, she spoke too soon. Cracking an eye open, vehemently, the cranky Head girl growled. " . ?" she asked, her voice muffled by the pillow she held against her face.

She heard the male gulp down in fear. The sleepy young woman grinned, yeah that's right, she thought, succumb to your fear. No one messes with her when she was asleep. Harry Potter, the boy who lived, was wise enough to know this, why didn't this Head Boy? "I didn't mean to disturb you, Granger but I needed to know if you wanted me to do the rounds alone tonight. You seem tired and I didn't want to disturb you."

Too late. Hermione thought grudgingly. The voice finally registered, it was "What's-his-face", her fellow Head. She was too preoccupied with trying to remember his name that she didn't catch most of the words he had said.

-Up all night doing rounds, you over work yourself. How'd you ace that paper on Gillyweed when you were out all night?"

GILLYWEED. Hermione shot out of bed. She was supposed to meet Draco tonight. Merlin, how could she forget? She scuttled around the room, throwing on a robe over her pyjamas while she was at it, she didn't have time to get dressed, Hermione was late. Her rounds should've been done an hour ago. Hermione slipped on her slippers and tugged at her hair, in an attempt to untangle the messy mass. She turned to look at the lad who had woken her up, though all she could see was an outline, the rain had stopped but the clouds still haven't cleared, leaving the room darker than usual.

"I'm on it..err.." she trailed off. She still didn't know his name. For crying out loud, six months with the lad ,and she STILL didn't know his name. What is wrong with her? She thought incredulously, inwardly giving herself a slap on the forhead.

Malfoy must be really rubbing off on her. "I'll uh, take my usual route, you take yours." She said absentmindedly.

As her thoughts began to lean towards what happened last night, she remembered why she was in such a rush and quickly doubled her pace. It was not like her to be late for anything. Even if it was a "not a date" date with a Slytherin.

She ran clumsily to the door, swinging it open violently and made for a sprint when the boy inside called out. Annoyed, she glanced back hastily. "What?" she inquired hotly.

"Are you sure, Gra—the unidentified Head Boy was cut off by a frantic Hermione.

"I SAID. I'm BLOODY ON IT." She ground out before slamming the door shut behind her.

Draco Malfoy was rubbing of on her, indeed.

A young man with light-blonde hair sat on the floor, by the window. His back against the wall with his legs stretched out. Beside him was a black basket that was covered with an emerald green cloth. It looked to be a picnic basket. Although, being Draco Malfoy, he had termed it differently: Portable dinner in a convenient basket, to be exact. There was no bloody way he was going to call it a picnic basket. Picnic baskets were beneath him. No powerful or skilled wizard ever went on such a muggle-like event. Well, he none that he's heard of, anyway. But that was good enough for him. After all, ignorance is bliss.

Draco yawned, blinking away the sleep from his eyes, he checked the pocket watch he had in his pocket. "She's bloody late." He said to himself, throwing his head back and wincing as it hit the marble window sill.

The Slytherin lad was propped against the walls in a sitting position, trying to figure out why he was out here waiting for an annoying mudblood. He was impatient and hungry. Not a good combination. Malfoy had skipped dinner at the great hall earlier this evening. He eyed the picnic basket—No. Portable dinner in a convenient basket—beside him hungrily. "Granger, if you don't hurry up." Draco blinked back the stars that began to cloud his vision. "I'm going to DIE of starvation.

Draco sighed hotly and slid even further down, his elbows were the only things propping him up. If his father heard about this, he would not be happy. Not happy at all. Especially about the picnic basket.

She shivered as a cold chill hit her. Pulling her robe tighter against her pyjama-clothed body, Hermione walked briskly to the other end of the corridor, her slippers providing no grip against the floor, making her slip and stumble. This was so cumbersome, she thought to herself sourly.

Had it not rained, she wouldn't have fallen asleep. She then, would not have to patrol the castle clad in pyjamas and slippers with only a robe to shield her from the cold. Bloody rain, why'd it have to be so soothing? Hermione sighed quietly as she rounded the corner. This was her last stop, after this, she'd head back down to meet up with Draco, whom she hoped, would be in a gracious mood.

He was dizzy, very dizzy. Not to mention, cranky. You see, Draco Malfoy is indeed a git, but when starving to the point of insanity, his meanness is somewhat accentuated. Grabbing a fist full of platinum blonde hair, Draco growled an animalistic sort of growl.

"Granger." The hungry lad looked up. " .LATE." His eyes flashed, however, his intense anger grew to confusion as his eyes slid down to look at what she was wearing. "And in…Pyjamas?" His statement came out like a question. His gray eyes focusing in on her pink pyjama getup.

Hermione huffed indignantly. "It's a long story, Malfoy." She gave him a pointed look. "And honestly, I don't want to talk about it." It was funny how, yesterday she was frantically mulling over what she was going to wear, only to end up here in pyjamas and a robe, while he was in his usual Malfoy ensemble. "Besides, when I ran into you two nights ago you weren't exactly in a dress shirt and slacks, Malfoy." She taunted, reminding him of his unusual jeans and shirt ensemble the night they had first bumped into each other.

Draco scoffed. "At least I looked decent, Granger. You on the other hand, look anything but." He sneered at the young woman who glared at him, a hurt look on her face. Ah, the things hunger can do to people.

Hermione, still glaring at the lad who was sprawled on the floor, looked at a black object that caught her eye. "Is that a picnic basket?" she pointed a slender finger towards the object, she looked at Draco who snapped into a sitting position. "You have good eyes, considering it's black and we've got very little light from the moon." He fixed his tied and coughed awkwardly." No, Granger. It is NOT a picnic basket. Only muggles do picnics. I call it, portable dinner in a convenient basket." He said with a flourish. He waved his hand to gesture towards the black basket.

The Gryffindor girl laughed. "Otherwise known as a picnic." She pressed, knowing full well that it would annoy the boy. And indeed, it got him miffed. "I SAID it's a—She held up a hand to silence the young man. "I get it, I get it." It came out rather breathless due to the fact that she was laughing so hard. "It's portable dinner in a convenient basket."

Draco nodded, finally happy that she has gotten it into her head that it wasn't a picnic basket. He cleared his throat. "Now that we have, very well, established that this isn't a picnic, shall we have supper?" he asked her, patting the spot next to him, suggesting that she sit down.

She laughed. Draco had the uncanny ideas of things to do. The effort he puts into making each meeting different was part of what made it so special, it's what made him special. Hermione turned a shade of pink when the thought came into her head. Earning her a weird look from Draco who had abandoned his glaring fest. "Ah, you're still not telling me something, Granger." He smirked, his mood shifting from cranky to painfully charismatic. He had a pretty good idea of what she was hiding. "What is it?." He finished.

Hermione glared at him playfully. "I'm not obliged to tell you anything, Malfoy." She sank down beside him. "If I believe you have to know, then I will tell you whatever it is you think I'm not telling you." Hermione smiled at herself, she was getting good at this. He was right about her not telling him about something but how weird would it be if she told him that she's grown a liking to him? Weirder than Ronald in a dress, that's how weird it'd be.

Draco rolled his gray eyes. "You're going to have to tell me sooner or later, Granger." His slender fingers gripped the green cloth that covered the basket and pulled it off. Draco set it down in front of him and began to rummage inside the basket. "But for now, Iet's stuff ourselves." He stated, bringing out a few choices of food.

"I have meatloaf, turkey, potato salad, a few pieces of steak, an enormous amount of spaghetti and a salad." He enumerated, taking each item out as he mentioned each of them. "Desert comes later." He turned to look at Hermione. "It isn't a feast like dinner but after all, there're only two of us."

Hermione smiled. "This is just fine, too much, even." She reassured him with a smile while grabbing a plate and a set of utensils that he had put out earlier. "Shall we dig in?" she suggested.

Nodding at her suggestion, Draco grabbed a lot of everything and began to eat rather quickly. "You seem ravenous, Malfoy. Did you eat dinner? I don't think I saw you" she asked, slicing a bit of her meatloaf and taking a bite. "Not that I was looking for you or anything." She quickly added. Malfoy chewed his food and gave her a look that said: "Isn't-it-obvious-woman?"

Hermione swallowed and muttered and "oh" before putting another forkful of meatloaf in her mouth and chewing on it daintily. Draco only shook his head at the Head Girl beside him.

They ate in silence, only the clatter of utensils against the porcelain plates, breaking the quiet atmosphere. Both we're too focused on their food. Though, Hermione would turn to look at Draco every now and then.

Once Draco had enough food in him to keep him from passing out, he slowed his pace and looked at Hermione quizzically. She noticed this and returned the look. "What?" She asked, putting her fork down. "You're really not going to tell me why you're in pyjamas?" he teased, biting down on his steak and chewing thoughtfully. His eyes daring her to refuse.

Hermione reddened at the mention of her choice of clothing. "I fell asleep." She murmured. "I was just so tired and the rain did nothing to help." Draco nodded. Swallowing his chewed up steak, he opened his mouth to speak. "Perhaps these late-night meetings aren't doing you any good, Granger." He pointed at her using his fork when he said her last name. "Is it best that we stop?"

"NO!" Hermione answered in a panic. She was tired, yes, but she didn't want to stop these meetings. These were special to her. Her eyes darted to meet Draco's, confused, gray ones. "I just—yeah, No." she rambled, stabbing the remaining piece of meatloaf violently with her fork.

Draco was taken aback by her quick and slightly crazed way of answering him. "It was just a suggestion, Granger." He muttered, setting his knife and for down. He was about to ask her about why she seemed so panicked when Hermione cut him off.

"So uhm, DESSERT!" she yelled, grabbing the basket to bring out their last course. A red-faced Hermione looked down so Draco wouldn't see her face. Inwardly, she was thankful that the clouds had not yet retreated, for had the sky cleared out, her red face would be visible. And Draco would have another thing to mock her about.

"So we have peach cobbler, chocolate fudge, caramel tarts and an apple?" she mumbled, holding up an apple. "That's odd. Why do you have an apple in here?" She regarded the apple with a curious glance. "And why just one?"

Draco grabbed the piece of fruit and took a bite. "Because." He said in between chews. "I like apples. And it was the only one left." Hermione rolled her eyes at his reply. "Oh, you." The girl muttered.

She opted for the peach cobbler and picked up a fork. "You are one odd young lad, Malfoy."

"Said the lass in pyjamas." He retorted coolly, giving her a look of triumph when she choked on her cobbler. Hermione scooped some of the fluffy whipped cream onto her finger tips and smeared it on Draco's arrogant face. "Somehow you look less arrogant with whipped cream on your face." She commented.

A stunned Draco laughed, making Hermione's heart skip a beat. "Wrong move, Granger." He chucked the apple core at her hitting her square on the forehead. "Malfoy!" she yelled, rubbing her forehead. The feeling of elation she got from his laugh melting away. "That's just gross." She held up the core and dumped it into the basket. "What makes you think whipped cream on your face isn't gross?" he asked her, as he began to clean up.

She shrugged. "Not as gross as an apple core to the head." She handed him a stack of plates. He took them from her and carefully placed them inside the black basket. Once the place was clean, Draco stood up and offered Hermione a pale hand.

She placed her slender hand in his and let him help her get up. "Thank you for the picnic, Draco." She gave him a grin when she saw his annoyed face. " .IN. .BASKET." he grit out, giving her a glare. His lips curled back and revealed that his teeth were clenched. Draco gave her a bored wave before turning around and stalking off, basket in tow.

Hermione laughed and waved him off. "I'll see you tomorrow night, Malfoy." She called out after his retreating form. Draco turned back to look at her. "I'll see you then, Granger. And please…" he smirked. "Do come in more suitable clothing. It's quite difficult to take you seriously when you're in your pyjamas eating peach cobbler."

"Well it's just as hard to take you seriously when you're carrying a—

Draco's lips curled. "Don't you dare call it a—Hermione cut him off. "PICNIC BASKET!" she exclaimed laughing. The Malfoy heir sighed and began his walk to his dorm. "Granger, you're odder than Weasley in a dress." He mumbled to himself. An image of Ron in a dress popped into his mind. "Ugh. Weasley in a dress."

**I had a dream about Ron in a dress so I just HAD to add that in. =) I have a new story called TURMOILS of WAR. It's my first drama fic so, give it a go and review.**

**Oh if any of my naruto fic readers are reading this, I'm in a rut trying to write the next chapter of ENGAGED? So please be patient.**

**Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter. .REVIEW. **

**Sorry for any spelling mistakes, typos and whatnot. **


	4. Date 3: A Kiss From A Mudblood

**Thank you my dear readers for reviewing! =) LornaMellark: First for Chapter 3 3 .Luv/ LadySarahJ/ Pinkcrazyness/MissMandyMalfoy/**

**FieryGeek: Why thank you! I'm glad someone noticed! Hahaha I try to keep it as realistic as possible.**

**Oh and much love to those who put me and my story in their Alerts and Favorites. *dramatic tears of joy* Please Review =) would be awesome to hear about what you guy thought of my story.**

**Chapter 4: Date no.3: A Kiss From A MudBlood**

Hermione sped down the hall with newfound courage, her mass of poofy hair blowing back as she sped through the dark corridor. This was it. She was going to give him something special, something she held dear. Taking in a deep breath through her mouth, to calm her jittering nerves, and exhaling sharply through her nose, Hermione rounded the corner in a skip-like manner. However, the sight that met her caused her breath to hitch "Merlin's pants." She gasped as she took in the sight of Draco looking out the window.

The moonlight shone through the cloudless sky gave everything a solemn glow, quite a different feel from the previous night wherein the lack of light had given everything a gloomy and dark atmosphere. She found that Draco looked best at night, when the moon's borrowed light dances on his features.

The pureblood's face was illuminated by the moon's bluish glow, he looked serene. His mouth that was usually set in his signature scowl was curved slightly upwards in quiet contentment. Draco was clad in his usual black dress shirt and slack combination, the Slytherin student had placed his elbows on the stone window sill and was casually leaning down as he gazed out into the Hogwarts grounds. His face was a picture of content.

Hemione found herself leaning on the wall, she was mid-skip when she caught sight of him and the effect he had on her led her to lose her footing, being the smart witch she was, she had grabbed onto the wall to keep her from falling and risk disturbing Draco. She liked it when he shuts up, it made it easier for her to stop herself from hexing him.

It was funny though, how years ago, she would have found every excuse to dislocate his nose yet now, she was finding every mean NOT to hex him. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Hermione looked back at her ex-nemesis. She fell alright, she fell HARD. It was only just a matter of time until she told him.

She continued to stare at him, when she noticed his mouth turn up in one corner. "Damn." She muttered, her presence has been acknowledged. "Yes, I look quite dashing when I bask in the moon's glow, don't I Granger?" He flipped around to face her, still leaning on his elbows, only this time, instead of leaning forward, he was leaning his back towards the sill. The serene look that he had on moments ago was replaced with a smirk that then turned into a grin when he saw Hermione gasp and turn red. "Merlin, Granger. Is turning red a habit of yours?"

The poof-haired student recovered quickly. She crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. "I merely was astounded at the fact that you are capable of looking quite innocent, Malfoy." Hermione smirked seeing Draco's grin disappear, to be replaced with his signature scowl. "Look at you, Granger. Getting mean already?" The young Malfoy jeered, waving his hand to discard her insult. "Oh you took my advice!" Draco motioned to her robes. "No jammies this time?" he teased playfully, a smile tugging at his pale and defined features.

Hermione blushed and muttered a profanity under her breath. Draco looked dashing when he smiled. Her quiet curse didn't go by unnoticed by the young man before her, his eyes glinted. "My, my, Granger. Has Weasley gotten to you already?"

At the mention of her red haired friend Hermione turned ten different shades of pink. Ronald? Oh Merlin, NO! Have the rumours of them dating scattered this fast?

She shook her head, still pink. Draco frowned. He didn't like her rumoured link to that weasel. He's hears one to many rumours of her love life. First with Potter, then with Weasely and, just recently, them BOTH, there was no end to the rumours.

An unidentified feeling bubbled in his chest, he suddenly felt like cursing a certain ginger in his sleep. He jerked in surprise, why was he feeling this odd sensation? Draco knew he had a huge loathing for the boy and his family, but he's never felt something like this. He bit back the blossoming urge to poison Weasley's chicken wings during dinner in the great hall and diverted his attention at the muggle-born before him. Gray eyes narrowed at the wall beside Hermione, glaring at it heatedly as if Ron was actually there.

Hermione raised her eye brow in question. She found it odd that he was glaring at a wall "Everything alright, Malfoy? Or has the wall insulted the lack of colour in your wardrobe?" she was still breathless from his comment about Ron yet still had it in her to annoy the bloke.

"You seem rather-uh-Red." She stated, walking closer to the young lad. _RED._ He thought vehemently, just like Weasely's hair, and his BLOOD. Draco coughed, trying to stop himself from imagining a certain Ron Weasley's blood all over his walls, lest he jump in delight in front of Hermione.

"I'm quite alright." He answered awkwardly, fixing his tie to give his hands something to do. Hermione gave him a sceptical look, clearly not believing him. "Right." She said curtly, raising a brow, daring him to come up with a better excuse. Malfoy wasn't stupid and neither was she, he knew she would pry about his little display of emotion "Ehem, Granger" He started, hoping to drive her attention away from his outburst of emotion. "Say, we get out of this hallway for a bit?" he asked, offering his arm. This gesture shocked him, was he really going to walk in such an intimate way with a mudblood?

Interlacing her arm in his, Hermione nodded. "Let's." she said grinning up at him, her pearly whites shining. Draco gave her a swift smile and both of them walked out of the Hallway. "Oh and for the record, I'm anything but innocent, and I'd like to keep it that way." Hermione felt her face heat up at his comment. Amidst all the sappy love goo in her brain, however. She still found it in her to chastise herself for blushing. She'd have to fix that, perhaps there was a spell that stopped one from blushing? It was time to hit the library.

The duo walked around aimlessly until the found themselves in the Courtyard, where Fred and George usually play their pranks and scare freshmen away with their devious inventions. One would think twice about heading over here when the twins we on break from their classes. "The courtyard?" she asked when they came to halt in front of a stone bench. "Would you rather I take you to a bathroom?" Draco countered, freeing his arm from hers so he could sit down.

Hermione rolled her eyes at his remark. "Always the one to ruin the moment, Malfoy." She turned to look at him, her expression a mixture of annoyance and amusement. The young lad patted the spot next to him. "Sit, little Muggle-born." He murmured. "Sit." The lass looked at him angrily. "I'm not a PET, Malfoy."

"Well if you don't want to sit, don't" he answered coolly flicking his wrist to dismiss her snarl. "I just thought it would be more comfortable for you, since you were out and about doing your rounds." He said still in that cold and uncaring tone that he always used.

Everything Malfoy said or did had an uncanny ability to cancel out of each other. Hermione can't seem to wrap her head around his personality, just moments ago he was treating her like a pet and now he wanted her to be comfortable? When men said women were hard to decipher, they clearly haven't heard of Draco Malfoy.

With a frustrated cry she plopped down next to him. "Such internal conflicts, Granger." He teased. "To sit or not to sit?" Draco laughed. Hermione hit his arm playfully. "It's To BE or not to BE, you twat."

Malfoy waved her off. "Poetry never caught my fancy, and if WIZARD poetry doesn't get me interested, why would muggle poetry?" he asked philosophically, looking at Hermione with a bemused expression etched on his sharp features.

"Shakespeare is quite good!" she argued. "In fact, most wizards read his works! It's utterly brilliant! There have even been rumours that he was a squib!" she blabbered on relentlessly. Draco basically kept his expression cool and blocked out her rambling about how Shakespeare was this, that and whatnot. He let his mind wander about why she was even here with him. It was clear what her intentions are, but what if he was wrong? Did she really like him? Or was it his own deluded fantasy? Perhaps she merely wanted some distraction after her duties as HeadGirl.

Huffing out of frustration, Draco decided to push those thoughts aside and decided to ride this one out without overthinking. Nodding to himself, he decided to tune back into Hermione's blabber-fest. "…and I heard that they were in Scotland so I thought to myself, why Scotland?" He tried not to look so confused when she turned to him for his opinion. "Don't you think?" she asked.

He opened his mouth, closed it only to open it again. "Exactly!" Hermione exclaimed, earning her a dumbfounded look from the confused lad. "I was speechless too when found out!" Draco gave her an incredulous look. Whatever it was, it must've been pretty damn shocking to render this girl speechless.

"And then when I—Not wanting her to go on about her ideas on whatever was happening in Scotland, Draco decided to interrupt her. "So, Granger. How are you spending time with me, without your dorm mate noticing? Clearly, your absence should be noticed by now."

Hermione looked thoughtful for a second. "You know, I'm not quite sure. It's either he probably thinks I'm off bunking in with Ginny or he's really dull-headed." She cocked her head to the side and though about it, biting her lips as she plunged deeper into her mind.

Thankful for the silence, Draco allowed himself a content sigh when he nearly fell off his seat due to Hermione's sudden jerk. "Oh, heavens! I have a quiz tomorrow and I haven't studied!" She jumped up. "I can't believe I forgot!" she exclaimed, slapping her forehead in frustration.

Grumbling, Draco got up and huffed. "Okay, it's about time we head back up, anyway." He muttered, in annoyance, this girl had a weird effect on him. Whether it was good or bad, he did not know. His gray eyes met her deep brown ones and they held each other's stares for a few moments. Both of them not wanting to break free. Unlike their usual stare downs that usually involved snarls and sneers. This one was rather sweet, if one might say.

"Oh." Hermione said, blushing suddenly. She had almost forgotten about what she was going to give him! Bracing herself, she captured his gaze once more. "I have..I have something for you." Draco threw her a questioning look. "What is it?" he asked curiously.

"A Kiss." She said in hushed tones. Draco nearly fell over. "A—A w-what?" he stammered, wincing as he did, Draco Malfoy stammering? Wait til his father hears about this! Hermione let out a breath. "A KISS." She repeated, still looking at Malfoy. Her brown eyes smoldering.

"Okay." Draco gulped, blinking awkwardly. He closed his eyes and waited for Hermione to "give" him his kiss. Hermione took his right hand in hers.

He felt something small being placed on his hand, he opened his eyes and looked at the object that the young witch had placed on his palm. It was a piece of, what looked to be, chocolate. It was in a shape of a tear drop and was wrapped in silver foil, a tag protruded from the tip. It read: "Hershey's Kisses."

"What the bloody hell?" he asked in confusion, holding the piece of chocolate up and looking at it. Was she playing a prank on him? Surely she couldn't mean THIS kind of er..Kiss. Hermione smiled at him. "It's my favourite kind of chocolate! You should try it!" she chirped. "I mean sure, it's muggle made but would you please just try it? It's almost impossible for me to share them with anyone, since I love them so much!" Draco blinked back the hysterics that threatened to bubble out of him. "Ok, Granger. Why don't you… Uh hurry of to bed."

"Alright! I'll see you 'round tomorrow night!" Hermione called, already halfway out of the courtyard. "BYE!" she yelled.

Draco waved a hand weakly still not grasping what happened between he and the muggle-born. "Granger." He grit out in frustration. "If you wanted to kiss me then just bloody kiss me."

**And so ends, the third date =) hahaha REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW I seriously don't know how the idea of kisses popped into my head.**

*** I did some research and yes, the Triwizard tournament in Hogwarts was at 1994, kisses were introduced 1907 so they existed during their foruth year at Hogwarts lol just in case you guys were wondering.**


	5. Date 4: Stunned After The Kiss

**Thank you, my darling reviewers! Your reviews made my day =) oh and thank you to those who added my stories and I to their favourites and alerts.**

**Just a few clarifications:**

**They are on their 7****th**** year in Hogwarts, not 4****th****. I accidentally put in O.W.L.S. for chapter 2, I think and mentioned something about them being in 4****th**** but they are on their 7****th****. Oh, and everyone who died in book 6 and 7 are alive. Ok, that's it. Leave me be! hahahaaha**

**Chapter 5: Date no. 4:** Stunned After The Kiss

Hermione stifled a yawn as she scribbled out a few paragraphs on Ron's parchment. The red-head watched her, his look questioning. "What is it, Ronald?" Hermione asked, dropping the quill and splattering ink on the brown paper. "Oh, Merlin." Hermione exclaimed, quickly muttering a charm to undo the mess she made on Ron's homework.

"You seem tired, Hermione." Ron muttered quietly. "Are you sure you're not overdoing yourself? You're known to overwork, y'know." He stood up and gathered his things. "I'll do the rest, you take a nap." Hermione smiled up at her best friend who was stuffing the parchment into a book, that he threw onto his pile of messy books carelessly. Typical, Ronald, she thought to herself fondly, her mouth curved upward to form a smile.

She stretched as she stood up and muttered an 'Oh' when she heard a few joints pop. Hermione knew she was tired, but this was beyond tired, she was exhausted! This wasn't doing her any good at all, she was losing track of her assignments and had run into enough walls to cause serious damage to her skull.

Hermione found this frightening. She had prided herself at being able to juggle things and still have the time to enjoy a few butterbeers with Harry and Ron. Now, however, she had barely enough time to help them with their homework properly, much to the annoyance of the two young lads. This was frightening, indeed.

The scariest moment though was during Potions, she had almost set the whole room ablaze if it wasn't for Draco who had quickly grabbed the snake fangs from her before she added it into the cauldron. Nonetheless, 10 points were deducted from her for the near explosion. The points she lost were given to Draco who had heroically controlled the situation.

"UGH!" she exclaimed loudly, balling her delicate hands into fists in frustration. Merlin, she was going insane! "I'm going to lose my marbles." Sighing in defeat she walked to the couch and plopped down next to Ginny who was reading a Quidditch book.

The common room was bathed in a warm orange-y glow, turning everyone a shade of

"So, who's the guy?" the ginger-haired female asked nonchalantly, not looking up from the book she was reading. The older witch nearly fell off the couch. "Wha-What?" she stammered looking at Ginny with big, dilated eyes.

Ginny lifted her eyes to meet Hermione's shocked ones, she closed the book shut firmly and laid it on her lap. "Relax, Hermione. I just asked you a question, no need to look like you've seen a Basilisk." Ginny flipped a strand of stray hair from her face and gave Hermione a knowing smile. "Now tell me…" she trailed off, looking daunting, the bright orange glow from the fire added to her fiery aura that Hermione couldn't help but take a big gulp. "It's nothing, Ginevra!" she half-yelled, turning a bright red.

Ron came stumbling out of the boys' dormitory along with Harry. "What's nothing?" Ron asked curiously, looking over at the two gals perched on the couch. "Blimey, 'mione. You're redder than my hair!" Ron laughed and nudged Harry with his elbow. "Don't you think, mate?" he asked , still grinning.

Harry looked up from the Marauder's Map and looked at Hermione, who gave him a look that said she was going to put slugs on his trousers if he made a comment. "She looks fine to me." He mumbled quietly. He, the boy who lived, silenced by Hermione Granger, this was one for the books.

Rolling his eyes at his best friend, Ron padded heavily to his usual spot near the fireplace, the foot of the couch that Hermione and his sister were currently sitting on. With a heavy thud, he plopped down, muttering a quiet sigh of content. "Ah, nothing like a quick relaxation session before we tackle boat loads of homework, yeah?" he asked the two ladies. "Homework that I'm sure, you'll be helping us with, right?" he asked, craning his neck to look at Hermione, who was, in his opinion, still red.

"I have head duty, Ronald!" She exclaimed. She barely had time for her homework, why on earth would she have to worry about HIS? This is all Draco Malfoy's fault! Why did he have to be so unbelievably complex? It's unfair the way he makes her mind go all foggy.

Slapping her forehead with the palm of her hand, she slid out of the couch and made for the portrait, ignoring her friends, whose heads followed her. Without a word she slid out of the portrait door and closed it with a resounding thud.

"What the ruddy hell was that?" Ginny asked loudly. Harry looked at her in surprise. "P-pardon?" he asked, shocked by her expression. "Gin, you've been hanging around me too much." Ron muttered quietly, not liking that his sister was getting the habit of cursing.

Ginny looked at Ron and rolled his eyes. "Hey, Harry." She called out, looking over the couch to meet Harry's eyes. "Bring out that map. " Harry's eyebrows rose in question.

Ginny gave him a sweet smile. "We're going to see what Hermione's up to."

Hermione practically ran all throughout her rounds. Her robes swooshed around as she hurried through the corridor while she checked out some things on her clip board. She was so focused on her clipboard that she didn't realize that Nearly Headless Nick was in front of her, until she felt like she walked into an icy wall of water. The young wish let out a scream, both of terror and shock as she went through the ghost. "Oh, dear! Do watch where you're going Miss Granger!" the ghost exclaimed, dusting himself off. "It isn't a nice feeling, getting walked through by a human."

Hermione glared at him, shivering as she opened her mouth to speak. "W-well, it's not exactly a walk in the meadow t-to w-w-wa-walk right past you! I feel like I went through glacier!" with one last shiver she hurried away to Courtyard.

Harry had been staring at Hermione's dot on the map for nearly an hour now. Nothing entirely fascinating had happened within the hour at all. To him, she was just doing her rounds, but everytime he pointed out that fact to Ron or Ginny, they'd give him a scowl and mutter for him to keep looking. Rubbing his tired eyes, Harry stared as Hermione turned right into a corridor for the umpteenth time. He let his eyes wander towards Ginny and her brother who seemed to be arguing over a chocolate frog card. Hid clear green eyes narrowed. Oh, they must be having a grand time while he sits and stares at his best friend's dot, spying on her.

Just when he was about to announce that she had finished her rounds and that he had wasted a valuable amount of time that he could have used to get started on Snape's detention paper, Hermione's dot sped up and was going to the courtyard.

"Oi! She's headed to the courtyard!" Ron gave a startled gasp, jumping to his feet and making for the portrait. "Be back in a while!" he called out, halfway out the door, leaving Ginny and Harry to stare at the spot he was once in. "He didn't stick around to find out who else was wandering the school at night." Ginny mumbled, she was leaning on the back rest of the couch to look at Harry, who was behind it, sprawled out on the floor. "I glanced at the map every now and then. You were so busy with Hermione that you overlooked another night time prowler." She explained, seeing his confused look.

"Well, she does have another Head doing rounds with her." Harry stated quietly, about to close the map. The young lass shook her head. "It's not him, look." She pointed at map. "It's Draco Malfoy, and it looks like he is headed to the courtyard too."

Her eyes met his green eyes for a brief moment. "I'll get my invisibility cloak."

Hermione sat on one of the stone benches, the cold stone did nothing to help her recover from her icy walkthrough with Nearly Headless Nick. With a shudder, she pulled her robes tighter around her and let her eyes look around as she waited for her date.

DATE? The thought sliced through her mind. She shut her eyes tightly and let out a breath. Why did she keep referring to their little meetings as a date? It clearly wasn't. If it was, wouldn't Draco have made it clear? Or maybe he thought she already knew.

The onslaught of thoughts rushed at her like water from a raging waterfall. Every thought sprouted ten other alternatives that ignited another whirlwind of ideas, Hermione found this quite irritating. Sometimes she just wished her mind would shut up.

She was so deep in her thoughts that when a twig broke she jumped out of the bench with a yell. "Easy, Hermione!" Ron came into view with his hands held up in surrender. "I'm not going to eat you."

"RONALD!" Hermione yelled in exasperation, a delicate hand over her frantic heart. "What in Merlin's name are you doing HERE?" she asked, sitting back down and taking a deep breath. "I could ask you the same thing." Ron countered, gesturing to her and the courtyard with his head, clearly not pleased at the fact that Hermione was out so late.

Hermione's jaw set and she jutted her chin out, a look that screamed; None of you bloody business. "Rounds." She answered stubbornly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Your rounds are over Hermione." Ron answered, checking his watch. "You should be heading back!"

"Are you truly concerned, Ronald? Or do you just want me back there to help with your homework?" Ron looked aghast. "I've never used you for just your help, Hermione! And you know that!"

The young woman sighed, looking at Ron who had taken the seat across her. "I know, I'm sorry. It's just that, everything's sort of coming all at once and I don't know how I can get by without drowning." She muttered. "OR killing somebody."

Ron was about to laugh when a cold voice wafted into the courtyard. "Funny, you mention something about killing someone, Granger." The red head's shoulders tensed, Ron recognized the cold, insufferable voice to be Draco Malfoy's.

"Because I'd like to kill somebody as well." Draco finished, stepping out from the archway and into the cold night air, the moon illuminating his pale features, giving him an intensely intimidating aura. "Care to take a gander on who it is, your highness?" He asked Ron with a cruel smile playing at his lips. Draco clearly was mocking the boy whom they have so restlessly teased: Weasley is our King.

Ron stood up and glared at the young man in front of him, teeth clenched. "WHAT. Are you doing HERE?" he asked, hostility etched into his usually warm face. Draco motioned to Hermione with a casual jerk of his head to her direction.

Ron's turned to Hermione. "You meet up with him? Is that where you go every night?" He asked, outraged. "What's it to you, RONALD?" Hermione countered, getting red in the face as she stood up. "I'm old enough to know what I want!"

Draco thought it was time to step in, after all he wanted Weasley gone as much as she did. "To answer your question, Weasel." Ron turned to him, his face red from anger and embarrassment at being called a Weasel. "She was here to help me with my wretched MUGGLE studies."

"And why would she help, YOU?" he asked loudly. The fair-haired young man rolled his eyes. Why was he justifying himself again? Or better yet WHY was he lying for a mudblood who he could have just left to fix things alone. "Detention. " he said simply.

"She nearly killed us all with that little explosion back in potions and Professor Snape has not time for the likes of her. I got stuck with her instead." He checked his nails, not bothering to look at Ron or Hermione, who was rather struck by his use of the sentence: the likes of her.

Though she was rather hurt Hermione took control of the situation at hand. "So, if you would please just let us get the deed over with, Ronald. I can finish the assignment with this little ferret and I MAY have time to help you and Harry with your Charms." She sniffed and walked over to Draco.

"Was 'bout to leave anyway." Ron muttered getting up stiffly and walking out the Courtyard. Draco watched as the ginger lad was out of sigh and he heard his final yell, Draco turned to Hermione. "I didn't realize you traded your cat for Weasley."

"Oh hush, you! He's not my pet!"

Draco scoffed. "He might as well be. With the way he's acting." He coolly stated, sitting down on one of the benches. "I can't believe he bought that thing about Muggle studies, though. Like I would ever take THAT class."

Ron stormed out of the courtyard, his blood boiling as he rounded a corner. And just when he thought his night couldn't have gotten any worse, a hand grabbed him. He let out a yell and stumbled forward. "Will you be quiet, Ron?" Ginny asked in a fierce whisper. "You're going to get us caught!"

"What the bloody hell!" Ron roared, confused about everything going on at the moment and glaring at Harry. "Why are you under the invisibility cloak with MY SISTER!"

Ginny turned red but before she could tell him what else they had been doing under there Harry cut her off. "Saving your sorry behind! Now shut the bloody hell up or our plan goes down the drain, along with probably around 50 points from Gryffindor, if we get caught!" he whispered. "Don't make me use silencio on you." Ginny added, not be outdone.

After a few more minute of arguing, Ron had finally fallen silent. "Ok, so now what?" He asked after he had told them about his encounter with Draco. "Well, we wait." Ginny mumbled. "They're bound to pass through here."

Hermione looked at Draco awkwardly. The little spat they had with Ron left the air a little to stuffy for both of them, the arrival of the Ronald had clearly set them back in terms of their attitudes towards each other.

A few nights ago, Draco would have teased her playfully when he heard that she walked through Nearly Headless Nick, now, however, he merely gave a grunt and continued clenching and unclenching his hands into pale fists while she, twiddled with her fingers endlessly and, every now and then, glancing up at him to see if he's relaxed his taut jaw.

"I didn't know he would come." She murmured quietly. Draco's jaw stopped mid clench and looked at Hermione, his cold gray eyes, softening. " I know. My friends are starting to notice things too." He answered coolly. "Especially Pansy." He added with contempt. "That twat can't take a hint even if it's no longer a hint but a full blown statement!"

Hermione had the sudden urge to squash Pansy at the moment . Clearing her throat, she forced a smile on her face. "Well, she likes you, obviously."

Draco waved her off. "Guess we have our own lot of admirers, don't we, Granger?" he asked, Draco's gray eyes gleaming as he said it. "Let's get you back to your dorm, shall we?" he stood up but this time he didn't offer her his hand.

They were finished, thought Hermione. Her wonderful late nights are over thanks to Ron's little show of concern! Bottling down the rage that threatened to consume her, Hermione fell into step with Draco and together, they walked down the corridor, the same corridor Harry, Ron and Ginny were in.

As they walked, the tension grew more intense, in fact it felt as thick as Crabbe and Goyle's polyjuice potion, Hermione thought as she tried with all her wit to think of a topic to start with Draco. She was on the verge of desperation! These late-night meeting couldn't end! No! She enjoyed them way too much to let them slip away.

"You look like you're about to have a panic attack, Granger." Draco stated loftily. "Do try to calm down." From the corner of his eye he saw Hermione open and close her mouth several times. "What is it, Granger?" he asked, Draco stopped walking, grabbed her wrist and pinned her to the wall .

Hermione let out a gasp when Draco grabbed hold over her wrist. "What?" she asked, startled by his outburst. "Just admit it already, will you?" he exclaimed in frustration, he slammed his free hand on the wall, a few inches from her head. "Admit it!"

Anger bubbled inside Hermione. "Yes, Draco because harassing whatever the hell it is you want out of me, will work!" she exclaimed, twisting her wrist to free herself. "What do you want me to say, anyway?" Hermione was still trying to pry her hand free but all Draco did was tighten his grip.

"The first night I saw you out here, you acted different! I want you to admit, why that was so." He answered, his tone as cold as a glacier.

"They've been meeting up before?" Ron exclaimed, startling Ginny who would've toppled over had it not been for Harry who steadied her. "Shut up, Ron! " he whispered angrily. Ron bit into his fist to keep himself from yelling out again.

The three stood there watching Draco and Hermione lash it out.

"I don't you anything you proud, arrogant fool! What makes you think I felt differently that night than I did about you six years ago?"

Draco smirked. "Because even if you're bloody mad, you didn't deny any of it." He countered.

Hermione stayed silent after that, he whole body seemed to be shaking in anger. "So you know, why make a big fuss?" she asked after a long moment of silence.

"I had to be sure."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak but was cut off when Draco kissed her right in the mouth. His lips were warm on hers, and she loved every single bit of it. Her eyes dropped closed and her hand made it's way to his nape. Draco, shocked by her eagerness, deepened the kiss, dropping her wrist to snake his arm around her waist to pull her closer.

They both fought for dominance, both parties fighting each other's tongues. Hermione let out a soft moan as Draco explored her mouth. Thank Merlin, she was pressed up against the wall, her legs have given out moments ago and if it wasn't for the wall and Draco she would have toppled over.

Her free hand wove through his silky hair as they continued to kiss. His hair was so smooth and soft it was sad that she was raking her fingers through it, leaving it messy. Draco grunted when she bit his lip, Hermione couldn't help but let out a smile. Take that Pansy Parkinson! Hermione Granger, mudblood, snogging Draco Malfoy in a dark corridor. Oh, life was good.

"BLOODY HELL!" Ron yelled under the cloak. Harry turned to Ginny. "Was it that loud or was it just because he yelled it in my ear?" he asked Ginny desperately. "My brother is an idiot!"

"Gra—Granger" Draco tried saying in between kisses. "Someone—There's—Someone there."

Hermione didn't care that she was out after hours, didn't care that she had three papers to write and has not started on a single one, she didn't give a damn at all. "I don't care." She murmured, not wanting to stop.

But Draco had already pulled away, looking at the spot Harry, Ron and Ginny were in and glaring as if he saw them. Draco put a hand inside his robe and wrapped his fingers around his wand. "Someone's watching us, Granger."

It seemed as if Hermione's senses finally kicked it. "Oh, Merlin! Who! OH! What an embarrassing situation! Wait, put your wand back!" she jabbered rapidly, trying to calm an angry Draco Malfoy down. "Who's there?" he called out

"Way to go, RON!" Ginny whispered. Harry nudged Ron. "Ron! Ron! They know!" he yelled but immediately regretting it because his voice had confirmed Draco's suspicion. The proud lad was now stalking over to their spot.

Ron panicked "Oh my God!" he yelled as he grabbed his wand and yelled when Draco threw off the invisibility cloak. Draco fell with a heavy thud, the cloak slipping from his hands. Harry grabbed it and threw it over Ginny who presence wasn't revealed yet since Draco only threw it off halfway. "MERLIN, you two! Why did you have to go and spy on me?" She yelled at both of them.

She marched towards Ron. "And you! YOU, RONALD WEASLEY! How dare you STUN HIM!" she hollered, as she poked him in the chest with her wand. "I ought to turn you into a slug!" Tears began welling in her eyes, with a quick growl she turned away and ran. She would not cry in front of them. "I'm going! FIX THIS!"

They both watched her retreating figure. Ron couldn't help but laugh "You'd think if she cared for Draco she'd actually help him and drag his sorry bum to the Hospital Wing." Harry gave Ron a cross look. "Ron, Hermione is going to kill us." Both young men turned their gaze to Draco's body. "Wait til his father hears about this…." They said in unison.

**Done! REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW! =) it's rather long, no? Sorry it took a while. I've been having a bit of drama and I can't write fluff when I'm pissed. Hope you liked it. Oh and I won't be updating any stories until I finish this one. So yeah ok thanks for reading!**


	6. Date 5: Better Than A Pain Reliever

**I was surprised that my previous chapter garnered a lot of hits =) You, my dear readers, are awesome! Thank you to the consistent reviewers: LornaMellark and MissMandyMalfoy and to the new reviewers! Thank you loads**

**Oh and to all those who added this story (and me!) to their fave lists and alerts, thanks!**

**Chapter 6: Better Than A Pain Reliever**

** " **But Hermione!" Ron wailed, flailing his arms above his head as he tried to reason with an angry Head Girl who was trying her hardest to ignore him. "You can't take away 70 points! That's- That's—" Hermione's head snapped up. "A completely INADEQUATE punishment for what you have done!" she finished for him. "I ought you turn you into a cat and make you accompany Filch for two months as punishment!" she yelled, throwing her book to the side and striding away angrily.

Ginny looked up from her homework, her face a mixture of horror and shock. "70 points?! No! Turn him into a cat instead!" she yelled, getting up to chase after Hermione.

Ron's ears turned pink as his temper rose. "You'd rather, your own brother get turned to a CAT than lose seventy points?!" he growled, balling his hands into fists. "DON'T take your anger out on ME!" his sister yelled throwing him a nasty look before turning swiftly on her heels to catch up with Hermione.

Ron let out a string of profanities as he pulled at his red locks of hair. "Bloody sister!" he stalked over to Harry who was crouched on a nearby table doing his and Draco's homework. When they came back to the common room the other night, they were greeted by their wild-eyed Head Girl. Hermione was livid over the incident with Draco, so livid that aside from deducting thirty five points from each of them, she made Harry do all of Draco's homework while Ron had to bring Draco a wide array of sweets everyday . "Can you believe her?" Ron's eyes hardened.

"Stop taking it out on Ginny." Harry said while he wrote quickly. Once he was finished with one paragraph, he dotted the period with a flourish and turned to Ron, switching parchment while he was at it. "She teases you like that all the time, and you do the same." The bespectacled young man stared at the blank piece of parchment before him and heaved a tired sigh before grabbing a new jar of ink from a pile beside him. "You're mad at Hermione, Ron."

The fire-haired young lad crossed his pale arms. "Well, YEAH! I mean, thirty five bloody points EACH?! Why in Merlin's bloody beard would she take that much?" Ron put his feet up on the desk, Harry was writing on.

The usually warm and comforting common room now had a cold chill hanging in the air. Ever since the night Ron had stunned Draco, Hermione's been cold and unforgiving, much to Ron's distaste for he would've thought Hermione would enjoy the Malfoy getting stunned. "She punched him during our fourth year!" Ron yelled. "Wouldn't she be happy if I stunned him?"

"They were SNOGGING, RON!" Harry bellowed from across the couch, earning stares from their fellow Gryffindors. Harry looked around sheepishly and gave them all a grin, turning to Ron and giving him a look that meant he should drop the subject. "Stop reminding me!" Ron yelled, clapping a freckled hand over his eyes and groaning.

Harry stopped writing, he had just misspelled Gurdy Root, he might as well just listen to Ron before continuing his homework. "Ron, we've been deducted more points than that in the past." He reasoned amiably. "I think you're just mad about Hermione being with Draco."

Ron's face was darker than his hair. "Well aren't YOU?!" he asked incredulously. Harry clapped his friend in the back and gave him a knowing smile. "I am, mate. But we're mad for different reasons."

Blue eyes met Green as both boys stared each other down. "You fancy her, Ron." Harry said sympathetically. He knew what Ron was feeling; he knew it all too well. After all, he had to watch Ginny date and snog other boys for a few years.

"Not anymore, I don't." Ron said coolly, almost resembling the tone Malfoy uses, before getting up a and leaving Harry to do his work.

Draco woke up with a pounding head to the smell of healing potions and creams. As his gray eyes adjusted to the dark, Draco could make out the features of the Hospital Wing. His hand flew to his aching head but stopped midway when a sharp pain sliced through his wrist. "What the bloody hell…." He trailed on, gritting his teeth in pain and trying his hardest to remember what happened last night. He knew he was snogging Granger his thoughts were cut off by a woman who came bustling in with a tray of food and another vile of potion.

Madame Pomfrey set the silver tray down by his bedside quietly, feeling Draco's eyes on her. "How are you feeling, boy?" she began to ready the potion, the clear liquid becoming a deep purple when she added a powder and a few drops of a certain essence. "My bloody head hurts." Draco said gruffly, rubbing his head with his uninjured hand. "And my wrist feels like it's been—

"Broken." She finished for him. "You fell at an odd angle, and well..that's that." She was still busy with the tray, not once, looking at Draco. "Who brought me in?" His thoughts on the other night were still a bleary, Draco only remembers noticing someone while he and Hermione were snogging. "Oh, those two lovely boys brought you in. Misters Potter and Weasley, I believe."

"WEASLEY." Malfoy spat, his lips curling up in a snarl. A blurry sequence of images flooded his mind. Images of him throwing off the cloak, him seeing Potter and the most important: Weasley with his wand out. "And how exactly did I end up unconscious last night?" he asked grudgingly.

Madame Pomfrey finally turned to him. "Well, you fell when Miss Granger and her friends disarmed you. They thought you were an unknown threat." She gave him a stern look, her eyes piercing his angry gray ones as she spoke. "We are quite aware of your rivalry with Potter and his gang, Draco. And it's not a shock that one of you has finally landed in the hospital wing. Your fights with each other intensify every year. Draco's temper flared, was she really going to pin this on HIM? Wasn't he the one in the infirmary? If anyone should be blamed it was Potter and his bloody pet Weasel.

"And why are you only chastising me and not the other two?" he spat, gripping the sheets until his knuckles turned white. "Enough, Mr. Malfoy. The three of you will be punished as your Heads see fit." Snarling angrily Draco slumped back onto his pillows. "I'm in the bloody hospital with a splitting head ache and a dislocated arm, I think that's punishment enough."

The witch fussed over a few bottles gingerly and turned stiffly to walk out of the hospital wing. "Take the purple potion tonight before you sleep. That should make your head feel better."

"Has my father heard about this?!" he yelled. The busy witch turned around swiftly. "Would you want your father to know you were out of the dormitories at night?" she countered before twirling around and walking out.

With one last glare at the witch, Draco covered his face with his pillow and screamed. He screamed until he was exhausted and out of oxygen. Once he had his fill, he threw off the pillow only to be filled with anger once more. "Weasley." He growled.

"HERMIONE JEAN GRANGER! You stop there right now and talk to me!" Ginny yelled, grabbing her friend's arm. The youngest Weasley was a champ at chasing people and basically anything athletic, after all, she did grow up with males. And not just any group of males, WEASLEY MALES.

"Ginevra! Now is not the ti—" Ginny turned her around to face her. "Spare me the nonsense." She grit out impatiently. "So I was right, wasn't I?" the red head sniffed and crossed her arms. "I knew it was a lad!" she yelled out, the paintings on the wall turned to her curiously, a lady carrying a crooked umbrella muttered a "tut tut." Before she left to visit another portrait.

With all eyes, painted ones included, on Hermione, Ginny waited for the older witch to gather her bearings. "Ok, Ginvera. I'll tell you everything you want to know, but not right now." Hermione motioned to all the portraits listening in on their conversation.

Nodding slowly and cutting her friend some slack, Ginny agreed. "Fine, but I'll hold you to your word." She turned on her heels and began walking back to the Gryffindor dormitories. "Don't make me use the unbreakable vow, Miss Granger."

Hermione shuddered. Ginny Weasley was force to be reckoned with. "That won't be necessary, your sheer intensity alone will get it out of me."

She began walking to the hallway but then remembered that Draco was in the hospital, a thought entered her mind as she made a detour to the hospital wing. Would he still expect her to meet him? Was he awake? Did this little stunt that Ron pulled, end their late night meetings? The thoughts flurried across her mind as she stood by the slightly adjacent door of the Hospital Wing. She was about to enter when she heard voices of two males in the room. She figured Draco must be awake then.

The Ginger male stood before him with a sizable basket of sweets. Though, he looked just as unhappy as Draco did. "Hermione told me to be your personal house wizard." He said turning a shade of red. "Like a house elf only, well, I'm a wizard."

Draco lifted a brow loftily. "And if you disobey me, you'll hit yourself with a frying pan?" he asked a bit too eagerly for comfort. Ron bit back a scathing remark. "No. But Hermione has kept me from quidditch. If I don't do my best to aid you, I'll be benched for the whole season." He muttered angrily. Why would Hermione go through such measures for a ferret like Malfoy? All he did was make her life miserable.

"Ok, go jump out of the window. If you live through that, look for the nearest source of water and drown yourself in it and if THAT doesn't work, come back up here and jump out the window again." Draco gave him a cold smile and gestured to the window. "If that doesn't kill you, I don't know what will."

"Honestly, Draco." Came a voice from the door. "He's already here to help you! There's no need for you to treat him this way." Hermione exclaimed, aghast at how childish these young men were acting. They were mad at each other, yes. But they're acting like children! If they continued on like this, she would surely give them something to sulk and brood about. She walked to Draco's bed, her heels making clicking noises that echoed throughout the hospital wing.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked when she finally reached his bedside and touching the tender spot on his head. He let out a quiet groan when her hand pressed the bruised spot, his hand, as if on its own, flew out and grabbed her hand. "Don't touch it." He snarled. She drew her hand back instantly.

Ron who was just standing there awkwardly, dropped the basket onto the bedside table noisily and began walking away swiftly. He reached the heavy doors and swung them open like they were made of cardboard, looking back quickly at the two of them before storming out of the window.

Hermione raced after Ron. "Wait! Ron! Where are you going?!" she asked him, his back turned to her as he walked faster. "Off to go look for a source of water to drown myself in." A hurt look fell upon Hermione's dainty features as she watched her best friend storm through the corridors.

"Well, that was awkward." Draco called out from his bunk. Hermione gripped the door a little tighter. He was supposed to be in pain and yet he still had enough strength to spit fire. "Bloody ferret." She whispered as she closed the heavy doors, with much effort, mind you. How Ron was able to just throw open these bloody doors was a mystery.

"Well, Malfoy. You just succeeded in pissing off Ron Weasley twice in row! And while injured. Do you get an award for being a git? Because you try so hard to be one, you MUST be getting something out of it." Hermione had her hands on her hips and eyes that were cold. "

"The reward is seeing the victim's face contort when they are scathed by the remark." He answered coolly.

If he wasn't injured enough already, Hermione would've hit him. HARD. But since he was already dented and bruised she opted to give him a cold stare. "I see you've gotten my habit?" Draco asked looking unbelievably gorgeous even with a purpling bruise on his forehead and a bandage on his nose. Hermione dropped her cold act and decided to just let him have his fill of her wrath when he was feeling better.

"So…" she said in a completely different tone. "What'll happen now?" She looked up to see him staring at her. It wasn't his usual mean stare, it was a softer gaze, one that lingered. Hermione felt a blush creep up her neck and warm her cheeks. "Well, once I'm out of this bloody sick wing, we'll just have to be a bit more careful." He said casually. He raised his eyebrow at Hermione's shocked reaction. "Unless…" he trailed on as his gaze dropped to the sheets. "You want to stop this once and for all."

Hermione didn't know what came over her, but whatever it was, it gave her a trunk full of courage and daring. She leaned in and captured his lips into a passionate kissed. Draco, after a moment of shock, responded happily and kissed her harder. They were kissing for quite a while until both young adults had to break the kiss for air.

Draco smirked, still panting, as he eyes Hermione who was panting. She stood up and checked her watch. "Get some sleep, Malfoy." She ordered, fixing her wrinkled sweater. She took the vial from his bedside and handed it to him gingerly. "Take this now and sleep, it'll relieve you of your pain and help you sleep." She walked to the door, Draco's gaze was fixated on her moving form, his gray eyes moving as she did.

Just before leaving Hermione met his gaze and smiled. "I'll see you tomorrow night in the corridor, if you're well enough." She smiled and left Draco to stare at the spot she was in earlier.

The hospital seemed to be colder and greyer when Hermione left. Draco could've sworn it was a lot warmer when the Gryffindor witch was in the room with him. It was as if she were a flame that warmed everything around her including a Slytherin like him. Funny how a mudlood could make a pureblood melt.

Holding the vial of the purple liquid in his hand, Draco furrowed his brows before raising it up to his lips, but before the liquid touched his mouth, he changed his mind and set it back down on the table. The throbbing pain he had felt earlier had left.

With a pale hand, he pushed the vial further before settling down to get some sleep. "Snogging Granger is better than a pain reliever." He mumbled before slowly closing his eyes and letting the world melt into darkness.

**REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW. =) I've been getting busier! Darn! I rarely open my laptop! But I've had some down time when I injured my foot so, there you go I hope you guys liked it. Tell me what you think of it! Your reviews make my day! **


	7. important

Hey guys, I've recently moved to a new place and I won't have internet for a month, at the least. (I'm in my aunt's place for an hour so I have net but I've got school work) I'm going to write the chapters while I don't have net and then post them all right away. I'm so sorry!

I hope you guys still read my stories when I get back. Thanks! Love you guys! Bye!

i-hime out.


	8. Date6:Forbidden Romance,Forbidden Forest

Ok, so I brought my laptop to a Coffee shop just to upload this chapter. Sorry for the long wait, but well things happen. My internet is still bloody gone. Just a heads up, since this isn't following the plot of HP, Malfoy has an ex girlfriend ok? Yeah there.

Thanks for the Reviews, Favorites and Alerts =)

On a funny note, I got more responses to my "message to the public" rather than the last chapter I posted lol I found it funny *grin

Chapter 7: Date 6: Forbidden Romance in the Forbidden Forest

"Mister Malfoy?" Madame Pomfrey bustled into the room carrying a tray full of potions and vials. "Mister Malfoy, get up. Come on now, lad." She said almost frustrated, as she tried to rouse the sleeping young man. "Mmmph." Draco groaned, as he slung his arm over his face, covering his eyes.

The young Slytherin student was given permission to be released from the Hospital Wing, much to the Medic's delight. He's only been in for a night, two is you counted this one, and already, she has suffered a migraine the size of Hagrid. Madame Pomfrey let the tray rattle noisily, in hopes of getting the boy to open up his bloody eyes, as she set it down on his bedside table. She turned swiftly on her heels and opened the curtains, a pinkish sky greeted her once she threw open the curtains. Shadows from near trees fell on her tired face, In weird eccentric patterns.

Draco stirred as foreign light hit his face. "Shut the blinds." He murmured, finally blinking out of sleep, stretching his long limbs while he was at it. "Glad you're finally awake, boy." The witch said icily. "I've went into such great efforts to get you to simply groan sleepily at me." She nagged crossly as she crossed the small distance between the curtains and the lad. "I've been given permission to let you leave." She handed him another vial of purple liquid. "Take this with you, drink it before you sleep tonight, you'll be good as new by tomorrow morning."

Draco took the bottle absentmindedly, his eyes glued to the sky. "Sunset already?" he asked no one in particular. "Yes Mr. Malfoy. You're in luck, you'll be on time for dinner at the great hall." Madame Pomfrey motioned to the chair by Draco's bed. "Those are fresh clothes. A friend of yours left them for you. Why don't you wash up and change?" It was more an order than a suggestion and Draco nodded in consent, there is only so much insolence Madame Pomfrey could take and he didn't want the woman in charge of such potent potions and is licensed to force feed him the said potions if need be, to be mad at him.

Swinging his legs over grumpily, Malfoy sighed as his bare feet hit the cold marble floor. He ambled quickly to the set of clothing laid neatly on top of the chair and picking up the dress shirt to take a look. Pansy. He thought. Only she knew what he'd wear on a regular basis, down to the details. Stalking did have its peculiar pros. Shuddering at the thought of Pansy stalking him, the young Malfoy hastily grabbed the hem of his plain white cotton shirt and tugged it over his head. "Are you going to just stand there and watch me wash and change?" he asked, his eyes flicking to the spot Madame Pomfrey had occupied only to find her missing. "Spooky lady." He murmured before walking into the lavatory.

Hermione racked her brains for a solution to her all-too-trivial problem at hand. The little, little being an understatement for news had spread like hell fire across the school, fiasco between her friends and her boyfriend, was he? Oh wonderful, another mystery she's no closer to divulging "Oh Bloody hell." She growled venomously as she gnashed her teeth together to form a snarl. "This is insane."

And insane it was, she was looking for a place to ensure that no one would see her and the Malfoy snogging in the wee hours of the morning. The task was virtually impossible because, at least three, paintings lined the walls of every corridor and them walking past one of them would sound the alarms. She turned to another corridor not expecting her luck to turn up.

Weaving a hand into her hair to massage her head, the muggle-born tried her hardest too calm down and not to go barging into the Gryffindor Common room to hex her poor friends for it was their fault that she was in this mess after all. Hermione stifled another scream before she woke anyone up. It was almost past eleven. She rubbed her tired eyes and made her way back to the room she shared with her fellow head who she STILL didn't know.

Draco left Snape's office livid. He'd been given a detention for tonight. TONIGHT! His first day out of the blasted infirmary and already he's been put to work? His father would here about THIS. This is an atrocious way of treating the son of a VERY VERY powerful family. Detention. Oh how cruel the world can be.

His conversation with his House head replayed in his head in all it's unfair glory. Draco had been summoned to see Professor Snape in the Dungeons after he made his glorious entrance into the great hall. The Slytherin table lit up at his arrival, Pansy was a bloody ball of positive energy when he had no choice but to sit next her. Oh the horror. A shiver ran up his spine, not the good kind.

After they had dined and were told to proceed to their respective common rooms, a note sailed past everyone, al la Ministry of Magic, and flew right onto Draco's forehead. It read: "Dungeons Mr. Malfoy, 10 o clock." Malfoy looked around for Snape and found him walking out of the Great Hall with his cape billowing behind him.

And so at 9:58, Draco was at the door of Snape's potions classroom awaiting a warm, well as warm as Snape could be which was three hundred degrees below freezing point. He opened the door and just before he could say anything, one sentence escaped Snape's dry lips.

"DETENTION, forbidden forest at 11 o' clock, that is all."

"Was the MEMO necessary? This isn't the Ministry of Magic, professor." The young lad chided. Snape's bored eyes snapped up. "Were you expecting an OWL?" he drawled in his smooth and cool voice that made the hair behind Draco's neck stand. Draco remained silent as he stared at his Professor in annoyance for a few more minutes until he had blurted it out. "I get hit by a stunning spell, had a few broken limbs and I get a detention?!"

"You were out in the corridors long after curfew Mr. Malfoy."

"MY FATHER WILL HEAR ABOUT THIS."

Snape's bored eyes turned mocking. "I'm sure he would. Now if you are done being a silly little brat, go see what that oaf, Hagrid, needs to be done in the forest. If nothing has to be done, simply stay there."

Draco blinked. "Stay…Stay in the forest?" He took a big gulp. Snape didn't seriously just say that he was to stay in the forbidden forest until Merlin knows when.

"Yes, Mr, Malfoy. In the forest. Ob-vious-ly." Draco stared at him in shock, how long was he to stay there he wondered. And as if his professor read his mind, he answered the question of the troubled boy before him. "Four hours, MINIMUM." The greasy haired man waved his wand, and the door behind Malfoy opened, he was clearly being dismissed.

"What about sleep?" he asked nervously, "How do you expect me to function tomorrow?" Snape played with his wand boredly, twiddling it between his fingers before sliding his eyes up to meet Draco's gray ones. "Bring a blanket."

And that's pretty much how the conversation ended. Another swear word came soaring out of the lad's mouth as he made his way along the corridors to the Slytherin Dormitories to, well get a blanket. The reflection from the lake gave the place an eerily green glow, along with lighter patches of green from the moon's light reflecting on the water. The gentle ripples somehow cast a rippling effect to the walls as well.

He threw open the doors and stalked in, hoping to attract as little attention as possible. But alas, fate is having a field day, there in the empty common room was the girl who he was avoiding the most. Pansy.

"Draco! How was everything? Did Snape give you a few points? Or—

"Detention." He spat as he hurried to the boys' dormitory. "He gave me a detention, now if you excuse me, I have to go get a blanket."

Hermione sat down on the floor, exhausted. She had roamed the whole castle twice. Once for her rounds and another round to look for a spot to have her not-a-date date with Draco. Why she took so much pains to ensure that their dates would continue, she didn't even know if he was out of the hospital wing yet.

"I'm exhausted." She told the wall she was leaning on. "I'm just so…exhausted." Hermione put her hand into her palm and growled.

"Eaaassy, Granger. What's wrong with you?" Hermione perked up once she heard Draco Malfoy's smooth voice. Forgetting that she was tired from all her walking, she jumped up and ran to him. "You're out of the hospital wing!" She exclaimed. Shocked by her own happiness, she blushed and cleared her throat awkwardly. "I mean, well- uhm, I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Clearly." He mocked while giving the blushing girl a smirk. "What's with the blanket?" Hermione asked eyeing the comfy looking piece of cloth Draco was holding. "I got detention."

"And the blanket fits into this equation, how?"

Draco sighed and began to tell her what happened after he left the infirmary and entered society once more. Hermione gasped. "You have got to be joking! Who knows what's in there?" she yelled as she paced back and forth. "Well, you seem pretty familiar with place, are you not? You accompany Potter and Weasel there doing God know what. " Draco mentioned to the witch who was still pacing. The poofy-haired girl turned and glared. "Shut up."

Draco held up his hands. "Not trying to start anything, Granger. Just tell me where I can stay in that forest. Preferably somewhere dry and where I'm least likely to be eaten by anything." He paused for a moment. "Damn, if I get eaten no one will find me." He shuddered.

At the mention of this, Hermione stopped abruptly. Of course! The Forbidden forest! What a perfect place to have their "date". No one would bother checking the forest, and as long as they stay out of harm's way, they'd be fine. The young witch was so happy she nearly cried out in joy.

Hermione turned to Malfoy. "I'll accompany you." She was expecting a positive reaction but instead she got a glare. "No."

She returned his glare with one of her own. "And why NOT?!" she asked icily, putting her hands on her waist. "There is no way I'm taking you with me to the Forbidden Forest. And I don't care if you've been there before. NO." Draco said in a steely tone before stalking away.

Hermione smirked. She'd give him a ten-second head start before she followed him into the forest.

"HAGRID!" Draco yelled a third time before slamming his fist down onto the door of the Gamekeeper's hut. "Bloody hell you OAF! Open up!" he lifted his foot and kicked the door. "Forget it!" he yelled as he began to walk into the mouth of the forest, thanking his lucky that stars that he thought of bringing his blanket with him. For it turned out that he would be sleeping out there after all.

After what felt like hours of tripping, slipping and falling, a ruffled and slightly muddy Malfoy stumbled next to a tree and onto a dry patch of grass. Resting his back against the tree's trunk tiredly, Malfoy breathed in a proper breath, inhaling the scent of the forest. Sighing, he opened his eyes just in time to hear a cry of pain and a thud.

Draco jolted out of his tired state and spun around to look for the person pain. For a second he thought it was "Hermione?" The young man eyed the witch on the ground clutching her wrist. "What are you doing here?"

"Following you, obviously." She muttered through clenched teeth, her wrist really hurt. Declining his hand, she stood up and walked to where he was standing with a look of defiance in her eyes. "And if you tell me to go back, I'll hex you."

Draco rolled his gray eyes. "Isn't that your wand hand, you injured when you tripped on that obvious root?" he asked. Hermione's cheeks turned red. "It wasn't obvious from where I was standing." She defended as she sat down on the spot he once occupied.

Another eye roll from the Slytherin. "Do as you wish, I do not want to attempt to even leave this spot to walk you back into the castle anyway, as you can see, getting here wasn't exactly an EASY task." He mumbled motioning to his person.

Hermione examined his ruffled appearance. His hair was tousled and messy that some parts were spiked up at different angles. Her eyes trailed down to his body, he had unbuttoned his shirt and removed his blazer, so part of his chest was out. Hermione was a very happy lady. Draco Malfoy was even more attractive when he was disheveled.

Draco tried to fix himself up before sitting down next the young witch. "Let me see your wrist." Not waiting for her consent, he took her wrist gently and applied a little pressure on the injured part. He felt her wince and immediately released the pressure. "Move it for me." Hermione would have told him that she knew how to handle it, but there was something about being taken care of that seemed so comforting.

Nodding slowly she flexed her wrist, a sharp pain travelled up her arm that caused her flinch slightly. Draco put her hand down gently and looked at her. "It's just a bruise. Here…" he dug into his pocket and pulled out the purple liquid that Madame Pomfrey had given him before he left. "Take it, the injury isn't so serious, it'll heal quickly. Rest it for tonight, tomorrow it'll be all better." He popped out the cork and handed her the vial.

"Thank you." She said before chugging the potion in one go. "How did you get it?" Hermione asked, wondering how Draco had a potion like that in his pocket.

He just shrugged. "It was for me." He said casually as he spread the blanket so that it rested on both of their shoulders. "Oh! Of course! Draco, you needed it more than I did!" Hermione felt horrible, how could she forget that he had been the one who had broken several bones. "Granger, drop it. I'm fine, now stop it before I cast muffliatio on you." Hermione would've smacked him or threaten him as well if it wasn't for her injured wrist. "Oh fine." She mumbled.

"So…" she trailed off staring into the forest. "What?" Draco asked, looking at Hermione. "How'd you learn to deal with injuries?"

"I'm Captain of the Quidditch Team, I need to make sure my members are okay." He mumbled as if it was common knowledge. "You wouldn't believe the injuries we attain in just one training session." Hermione laughed. "What was the worse you've dealt with?"

Draco furrowed his brows, trying to remember. "Dominique's." Hermione tensed when he mentioned the name. Dominique Lair was Draco Malfoy's beautiful ex- girlfriend. They were a perfect couple, both were purebloods and of powerful families, not to mention they grew up together, best friends at that. The Lairs and Malfoys were said to have close ties to one another, this led to rumors, rumors that Hermione gladly ignored, that Dominique and Draco were to be wed.

Well that was, until the perfect couple had broken up. Dominique's family had to move to France which meant that she had transferred to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. Not wanting to each other to suffer missing out on anything, they had decided to break up but still remain the best of friends.

Hermione frowned. This meant, they were still impossibly close to each other. "Granger." Draco snapped her out of her reverie. "What's the matter?"

She didn't know what she felt angry, but she was. "Nothing." She huffed as she looked away. Nothing was wrong. Except that Dominique existed and was breathing.

"Do you want me to continue?" he asked nicely, a first in history. Hermione snorted. "Oh, of course! Tell me, all about DOMINIQUE." She spat. Draco glared at her. "What's she done to you?" he asked, suddenly defensive.

"Oh nothing, nothing. But do carry on about your ex-girlfriend. Who, by the way, is still your best friend."

Draco sent her an icy glare. "Oh, and you having TWO MALE best friends is acceptable. One of which, is madly in love with you and follows you like a lost puppy."

"Well, at least I didn't have a relationship with either of them." She retorted. Malfoy was astounded. Never had Hermione shown so much dislike for a person. He wondered why she was so mad at Dominique, she hadn't even met her. Just before he was about to stalk off to find another place to stay, one where there wasn't a babbling witch criticizing a friend of his, a thought struck him. She was jealous.

"Getting territorial already, Granger?" he teased, slinging an arm over Hermione's shoulder and pulling her closer. The brunette struggled but couldn't get out of his grasp. "Did I tell you that she sent me an owl yesterday? She said that she missed me terribly." He whispered into her ear.

"And I told her, that I missed her as well. She's going to visit me over the Holidays, would you want to meet her? She's going to bri—

"Shut up!" Hermione yelled but Draco pressed on. "She's going to bring her boyfriend." He finished. The jealous witch turned scarlet when she realized she had fallen for Draco's trap.

There was silence. "You're a bloody git." She stated harshly before turning to face him, a glare at the ready. "And you, are hilarious when you're jealous." He mumbled before capturing her lips in a gentle kiss.

Hermione was stunned. She didn't want to melt into the kiss, NO. She wanted to be mad, be angry with Draco for baiting her, be mad at Dominique who was alive, and mad at herself for being too affected. But as hard as she tried to stay mad, she found herself melting. She pulled him closer to her, deepening the kiss.

Draco took this as a queue to slide his tongue into her mouth. Hermione moaned as his tongue explored her mouth. Draco's arms tightened around her as they continued to snog.

After a few more minutes of intense snogging, the two finally let go of each other. Their moods, lighter than it was before their argument. Feeling better, Hermione felt her resentment towards Dominique vanish and decided she really did want to know what happened to her.

"You're not going to snap at me this time?" He asked, smirking when she began to sputter. The Malfoy heir laughed. "Okay, I'll spare you the embarrassment."

"We were prepping for the game against Gryffindor. My strategy was to throw Potter's team out of their brooms, don't look at me like that, so I told the beaters to go hard or go home." Hermione wiped the disapproving expression off her face and told him to go on. "I also wanted my team to be able avoid hard hits from the bludgers. They were doing a good job until Dominique had gotten hit hard by two bludgers, crashed into the ring and fell off her broom. I managed to cast a spell to slow her fall but it was a little too late, she still hit the ground pretty hard."

Hermione gasped. "Oh my." She felt a surge of guilt for feeling happy that Dominique had been injured that bad. "Yeah, well I had to use magic to levitate her injured form because if I carried her, it might've caused more damage."

Draco laughed at her expression. "Quidditch is a bloody sport." He quipped. "You should teach me some time." Hermione challenged. The young land raised an eye brow. "Oh, you're on." He smirked.

"I can't believe we're in the forbidden forest." Hermione stated, wanting to stop talking about Draco's ex-girlfriend. Malfoy shrugged. "I find it fitting."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Pray tell."

"Forbidden romance in the Forbidden Forest." Hermione laughed. "You have a point there, albeit, forbidden, yes. Romantic, no." Draco's mind flew through every disgusting and vile creature in the forest.

"'If a giant rat appears, I'm leaving you to fend yourself." Hermione's eyes rolled. "Oh, my Knight is oh-so brave."

"There's a reason why Knights are a rarity, Granger. They die acting chivalrous."

"You've just turned the most un-romantic place, even more un-romantic. Congratulations." She muttered sarcastically. Just then a nearby bush rustled causing both of them to jump. "I'm serious, Granger. If that's a rat, I'm gone."

Ron heard the bunk next to him creak, someone had just crawled into it. "Did he fall for it, mate?" he asked Harry who had just removed his invisibility cloak. "Well, our plan worked only up until Snape. He fell for it and went to the forbidden forest." Ron grinned. "Brilliant, mate. Brilliant!"

Harry help up a hand. "Hermione followed him out to the forest and well, things got a little heated. Both in the arguing and snogging department."

Ron's elated face turned dark. "Bloody Hell. It's a forbidden romance in The Forbidden Forest." The infuriated red head slammed his face onto his pillow.

"That's what they said." Harry muttered before shutting off the light.

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